13

NEW CUMMINS-POWERED LIFT BOAT FOR AMC BOATS: Getting Bigger, Going Deeper

Moving a lift boat around in the Gulf of Mexico requires a special kind of seaman. At 27 years old, Capt. Bob Verdin already has nearly a decade at sea, with a good part of that, spent operating lift boats for his employer AMC Liftboats Inc. in Golden Meadow, Louisiana. That experience has been put to good use by the company in the design of their new 79X38-foot lift boat currently being built at R&S Fabricators in Lockport.

The new boat will have three 135-foot lift legs compared to only 105-foot legs on the company's present boats. These legs, allowing for the Coast Guard mandated 15-foot air gap between the bottom of the boat and the water surface. The boat can work in depths up to 85 feet. "The most difficult part of the job is holding in position while getting the legs down in an exact location," explains Verdin, "There will often be cross currents between the surface and the bottom that can really put a lot of stress on the legs and on the captain."

To minimize the time it takes to lower the set the legs, AMC has installed a Renieer two-speed hydraulic lowering system on the new boat. The legs will go to the bottom at 25 feet per minute and then lift the boat's hull out of the water at 10 feet per minute. That means that even in 85 feet of water, the captain need hold position for only about four minutes before the leg's 12X24-foot pads are on the bottom. The company feels that more horsepower in a lighter engine is required. Weight is very important on a boat that lifts itself above the sea surface, so AMC decided to go with a pair of Cummins KTA-19M delivering 470 hp each at 1800 RPM.

The engines drive 52X46-inch open props through Twin Disc MG516 4.5:1 gears to move from site to site and to hold the boat in position. Hydraulics for the lift are provided by four Oilgear Hydraulic pumps engaged by Horton clutches on the front of the main engines. The total lifting power on the boats three legs is 1.4 million pounds, with the boat itself weighing 650,000 pounds. This leaves 180,000 pounds for cargo to be carried on the boat's 2200 square foot working deck.

Another innovation undertaken by AMC on this boat was to equip it with two equal 40-ton cranes rather than one large and one small. This will allow the boat to work off either side. Power for the cranes is provided by hydraulic drives from a pair of remote located Cummins 6CT 8.3 litre engines. Ship's service power is from a pair of Cummins 6BT5.9 generating 75kw each. The boat accommodates 28 people, carries over 9,000 gallons of potable water and holds 4,800 gallons in fuel.

Delivery from the yard is scheduled for January or February of 1998.

For more information please contact:

Alan Cheramie
AMC Lift Boats Inc.
P.O.Box 614
1311 South Bayou Drive
Golden Meadow, LA 70357
Phone: (504) 475-5077
E-mail: bobbyv@cajunnet.com

Richard Adams
R&S Fabrication
Lockport, LA
Phone: (504) 532-5868 Fax: (504) 532-6508

Calvin Klotz
Cummins Mid-South Inc.
110 E. Airline Highway
Kenner, LA 70062
Phone: (504) 465-3403

500-476, 475-451, 450-426, 425-401, 400-376
375-351, 350-326, 325-301, 300-276, 275-251, 250-226, 225-201
200-176, 175-151, 150-126, 125-101, 100-76, 75-51, 50-26, 25-0